JerseysFinest27Joined: 07 Jan 2010Posts: 8843Location: New Jersey... Props to Joe_Is_The_Best on the sig

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:35 pm Post subject:

broncos67 wrote:

1. Athleticism- The guy doesn't have to be a freak athlete, but he needs to, at a minimum be an average to above average NFL caliber athlete to even be in the conversation. As has been said, there's plenty of guys who never made it because they weren't athletic enough.

2. Intangibles/Brains- Basically, the guy needs to have good game knowledge and situational awareness, to go along with anticipation, recognition, and the like. Being a freak athlete won't help you if you can't figure out where you should be on the field.

3. Injury History- I like that bobdevine brought this up, because it weighs heavily for me. If a guy has a history of being kept out by small injuries, or recurring injuries to knees, feet, etc..., that's a major red flag for me, and regardless of talent I would think twice.

4. Size- It matters to some degree. Guys don't necessarily need to fit the "traditional size molds" that everyone expects they need to fit into, but more often than not guys who are outliers to those notions tend to flop.

5. College prestige/production- I put stock in where a guy goes to college, albeit not a ton. Some schools are notorious for masking players weaknesses, while others don't expose their guys enough. That can be worth paying attention to. At the same time, I value production to an extent. If you are playing a lot of snaps with poor numbers, odds are, unless the team is abysmal, you aren't an NFL guy.

I agree with this except I switch #3 and #5. I put college production pretty high, especially when grading out offensive skill players. Injury problems dont worry me as much anymore, thats one of the last things I think about when grading.

germx wrote:

One thing i would like to add is the evaluation of positions. For example, i care more about athleticism at CB than i do LB or even S for that matter on defense.

We agree here germx. Athleticism at CB has become very important in my grading. Fluid hips, fast twitch movements, and body control are very important to me when grading CB's. Instincts and fast twitch movements are most important to me when grading LB's_________________